Head suspension for safety hat



June 23, 1970 H. A. RASCHKE 3,516,092

HEAD SUSPENSION FOR SAFETY HAT Filed Nov 15 1967 INVENTOR.

HERBERT A. RASCHKE ATTO RN EYS United States Patent 3,516,092 HEADSUSPENSION FOR SAFETY HAT Herbert A. Raschke, Sausalito, Calitl,assignor to E. D. Bullard Company, Sausalito, Calif. Filed Nov. 15,1967, Ser. No. 683,194 Int. Cl. A42b 1/08 US. Cl. 2-3 3 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE A suspension harness for a safety hat that hasflexible tabs that form the sole connection between the hat and aheadband that forms a part of the suspension harness. The tabs includecircumferential appendages that have posts projecting therefrom; the hatshell has holes through which the posts extend. Crown straps thatcrisscross over the top of the wearers head are fastened in the hatshell by the posts.

This invention relates to a head suspension harness for a safety hatthat includes a headband for firmly and comfortably engaging the head ofthe wearer. The suspension harness is readily insertable in andremovable from a rigid safety hat shell.

A head suspension system according to the present invention affords ahigh degree of flexibility of the headband so as to permit conformity ofthe headband to various shaped heads. This is achieved by providing onthe headband foldable tabs that constitute the means by which theheadband is secured to the interior of the rigid shell.

An object of the present invention is to provide a head suspensionsystem that has crown straps that crisscross over the top of the wearershead to maintain a space between the wearers head and the safety hat, ahead encircling band for retaining the hat on the wearers head evenduring movement by the wearer, and fastening members that perform thedual function of fastening both the crown straps and the headband intothe hat. Conflicting desiderata exists because the crown strapspreferably cross one another at about 90 (to achieve such configuration,the ends of the crown straps are fixed within the hat at uniformlyspaced points) whereas the headband is preferably joined to the rigidshell at points more nearly adjacent the side of the head rather thanthe front and rear of the hat, since a typical head is oval shaped withthe long axis extending between the front and rear of the head. Thepresent invention provides a mounting tab for the headband that ishingedly or flexibly joined to the headband and has a horizontallyextending appendage thereon so that the point of joinder of the headbandto the hat is effectively toward the side of the head, whereas the pointof joinder of the crown straps, which points are coextensive with theend of the above-mentioned appendage, are at uniformly spaced pointsaround the interior of the hat.

A feature and advantage of the present invention is that only fourfastening members are needed to mount both the headband and the crownstraps within the hat shell.

Other objects, features and advantages will be more apparent afterreferring to the following specification and accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a bottom view of a safety hat shell having mounted therein ahead suspension system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed view of the portion of thepresent invention that is provided for fixing the head suspension systemwithin the safety hat shell;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a portion of FIG. 2 taken from an aspectlooking into the hat shell; and

FIG. 4 is a detailed view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

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Referring more particularly to the drawing, reference numeral 12indicates a safety hat shell that is formed of any suitable rigidmaterial, such as injection molded thermoplastic, aluminum, steel, orthe like. Carried within hat 12 in a suspension system indicatedgenerally at 14. Suspension system 14 includes a head encircling band 16which embraces the head of the wearer to retain shell 12 in place on thewearers head and crown straps 18 which crisscross one another over thecrown of the wearers head to maintain the crown in spaced relation tothe interior of the shell. Integral with and extending from the upperedge 16a of headband 16 are four mounting tabs 20, 20a, 20b, and 200.Tabs 20 and 20c constitute a rear pair of tabs; tabs 20a and 20bconstitute a front pair of tabs. Each tab has at the free end thereofremote from band 16 a horizontally extending appendage 22, theappendages associated with rear tabs 20 and 20c extending rearwardly andthe appendages associated with front tabs 20a and 20b extendingforwardly. Because the tabs and associated appendages are substantiallyidentical, a specific description of one, for example tab 20, willsufiice.

In FIG. 2, tab 20 is partially unfolded from its normal position withrespect to headband 16 for clarity of depiction. The tab is foldablewith respect to band 16 because of an elongate thin portion 24 whichextends across the base of the tab in linear alignment with the upperedge 16a of the headband so as to form a hingelike construction. Thinportion 24 can be formed by excising a portion of the material at theappropriate location or, in the case in which headband 16 is formed byinjection molding of a thermoplastic material, by providing appropriateconvexities in the die or mold used to so form the headband. FIG. 3shows in broken lines that headband 16 can hingedly move with respect totab 20 so that the headband will flex into conformity with the wearershead without undue pressure or discomfort to the wearer.

At the free end of each appendage 22 and spaced horizontally rearwardlyfrom the main body of tab 20 is a post 26 having an enlargment or head28 at the free end thereof. Hat 12 has a hole 30 therethrough that has adiameter larger than post 26 and smaller than head 28 so that when thehead is forced through the hole, the tab 20 and headband 16 are retainedin place within the hat. As shown in FIG. 2, enlarged head 28 ispreferably formed with a converging or frusto-conical head so as tosimplify insertion of head 28 through hole 30. Because hole 30 has alarger inner diameter than post 26, a certain degree of pivotablemovement about the central axis of hole 30 is provided; such pivotablemovement contributes further to the comfort afforded by a suspensionsystem of the present invention.

Each crown strap 18, at the opposite ends thereof, is formed with one ormore holes 32 that have a diameter substantially equal to the diameterof hole 30 in hat 12 so as to receive therethrough post 26. Thus, crownstraps 18 are fixed with respect to hat 12 so that the crown of thewearers head is spaced by an appropriate distance from the inside of thehat. Because plural holes 32 are formed in the end of crown straps 18,adjustability to accommodate various shaped heads is provided.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, holes 30 and the ends of crown straps 18 arespaced more or less uniformly around the periphery of hat 12 so that thecrown straps intersect one another centrally of the hat at an angle nottoo different from a right angle. Accordingly, the support of the hat ata safe distance above the crown of the wearers head is assured. However,the mounting of headband 16, because it is achieved through tabs 20,appendages 22, and posts 26, affords a high degree of flexibility sothat the band can flex or bend into conformity with the wearers head.Therefore, a high degree of comfort is achieved as is uniform pressurearound the entire periphery of the headband so as to firmly secure thehat onto the wearers head. Because of the flexibility afforded by thinportion 24, the headband can move inwardly to conform with flat areas ofsubstantial length that frequently exist along the side of many heads.

Thus, it will be seen that the present invention provides a relativelysimple headband suspension system which can be conveniently formed frominjection molded thermoplastic material. In so forming the suspensionsystem, no sacrifices in comfort, safety or firmness of mounting aremade, a a consequence of which the hat is retained securely andcomfortably on the wearers head. The extreme flexibility makes thesuspension system usable on heads of virtually any size or shape. Thesecharacteristics are extremely important in encouraging persons inhazardous locations to wear appropriate safety gear.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, itwill be apparent that other adaptations and modifications can be madewithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a rigid safety hat, a suspension system forsupporting said hat on the head of a wearer comprising a head encirclingband having an inner surface and an outer surface, means for adjustingthe band to embrace the wearers head so that the inner surface residesin circumscribing relationship thereto, said band having front and rearpairs of mounting tabs projecting from the upper edge thereof, said tabsbeing mounted for hinged movement relative said band about a generallyhorizontal axis coterminous with the upper edge of said band so that thetabs can be folded to an operative position in approximate. parallelconfronting relation to the outer surface of said band, each said tabhaving a circumferentially extending appendage integral therewith at theextremity thereof remote from said band, the appendages on said reartabs extending rearwardly therefrom and the appendages on said fronttabs extending forwardly therefrom, and means on said appendagesconnecting said tabs to said safety hat interior and retaining the tabsin the operative position.

.2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said connecting means comprises apost extending generally perpendicular from said appendage, anenlargement on the free end of said post, and a portion of said safetyhat defining a hole having an internal diameter less than saidenlargement and greater than said post.

3. The invention of claim 2 in combination with a pair of said crownstraps reside between said appendages and spacing the crown of thewearers head from the interior of the safety hat, said crown strapshaving holes therethrough for engagement with said posts so that theends of said crown straps reside between said appendages and said safetyhat.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,317,954 4/1943 Deike 232,822,546 2/1958 Barker 23 3,025,525 3/ 1962 Larson 2-3 3,137,859 6/1964Zbikowski 2 3 JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner

